The use of valves to control the flow of a fluid within an overall heat exchange circuit within an automobile system is known. Control valves or thermal bypass valves (TBV) are often used in combination with heat exchangers to either direct a fluid to a corresponding heat exchanger for heating/cooling or to direct the fluid elsewhere in the heat exchange circuit so as to bypass the heat exchanger. Control valves or thermal bypass valves are also often used in automobile systems to sense the temperature of a particular fluid so as to either direct it to an appropriate heat exchanger in order to assist with either (i) maintaining an automobile system fluid within an optimal temperature range or (ii) bringing the temperature of the automobile fluid to within the optimal operating range.
Often, control valves or thermal bypass valves are incorporated into a heat exchange system by way of external fluid lines that are, in turn, connected to an inlet/outlet of a heat exchanger, the control valves being separate to the heat exchanger and being connected either upstream or downstream from the heat exchanger within the external fluid lines. Control valves or thermal bypass valves are also sometimes required to be directly mounted to or integrated with a specific component of the overall automobile system often requiring different fluid connections that enable direct mounting to the housing of a particular component or heat exchanger. This not only adds to the overall costs associated with the system, but also gives rise to multiple potential points of failure and/or leakage.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved valve units as well as heat exchanger assemblies incorporating valve units that are adaptable to various mounting arrangements, such as direct or remote-mounting to a fluid source and/or direct or remote-mounting to a heat exchanger, in order to satisfy various system requirements and/or different space allocation requirements within an engine compartment of an automobile.